Another election denier loses as Katie Hobbs defeats Kari Lake for Arizona governor

Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s Democratic Secretary of State, has defeated Republican Kari Lake in the battleground’s closely watched gubernatorial race, scoring the latest victory over a Trump-backed candidate who openly embraced the former president’s lies about the 2020 election.

“Democracy is worth the wait,” Hobbs tweeted after the Associated Press called the race in her favor late Monday following nearly a week of vote counting. “Thank you, Arizona. I am so honored and so proud to be your next governor.”

In the run-up to the gubernatorial contest, Lake—a former television anchor—refused to say whether she would accept defeat and repeatedly cast doubt on the state’s election process, baselessly claiming it involves fraud. Last month, the Republican candidate told CNN, “I’m going to win the election and I will accept that result.”

Given her past remarks, the question of whether Lake will ultimately admit her loss was front and center Monday night as progressives celebrated the defeat of yet another prominent election denier.

Arizona became a hotbed of election denial in 2020 after President Joe Biden narrowly carried the state, which was previously a Republican stronghold. As Arizona’s top election official, Hobbs was a frequent target of right-wing demonstrations and threats of violence.

But the 2022 midterms have seen Arizona voters reject candidates who vocally peddled lies about the 2020 results. In addition to Lake’s defeat, GOP secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem—who was at the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 insurrection—lost to Democrat Adrian Fontes and Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Blake Masters fell to incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).

Originally published at Commondreams.org.